Eat It and Like It: Red Fish chef works for 'boat to table' seafood

Chances are, you’ve been asked by someone coming to the area on vacation: “Where do we get good seafood?”

I’ve been asked plenty. Usually, it’s from people who live in the Northeast or maybe the Midwest. The assumption being: Vacation destination, great food, near the ocean, connect the dots... great seafood.

In most cases, it holds true. Quite obviously, the Lowcountry falls into that category.

Chaun Bescos, executive chef at Red Fish, feels as prepared as anyone on Hilton Head Island to offer a great seafood experience.

“I like to call us boat to table,” he says. “Everyone says farm to table and we believe very strongly in boat to table.”

A 10-minute conversation with chef Chaun (pronounced like Sean) and you quickly realize that he is absolutely serious about providing the freshest catches possible. A lot of restaurants will tell you they have fresh fish, but chef Chaun talks about sometimes spending half of his days breaking down whole fish.

It’s an art form he says he picked up in Hawaii, where he grew up.

“I definitely have a love for it.” he says. “I love getting it right out of the back of the boat, cutting out a lot of the middle men.”

Which means he can pass some savings along to you.

There are some staples on the menu. The Scottish Salmon is always a hit, as is the local flounder.

“Especially this time of the year.” Bescos says, when his fisherman are grabbing lots of flounder off of the Carolina coasts.

Seasonal fare and nightly features are a big part of the menu.

“We do a lot of night features.” Bescos tells me. “Because I don’t know what is going to come off of the boat.”

Which will say something about the attempt at keeping every dish as fresh as possible.

Imagine my surprise then, when I asked Bescos about his menu for his wine dinner as part of the Hilton Head Island Wine & Food Festival. He started rattling off dishes and I stared and waited and waited.

There’s Pheasant, there Bison Hanger Steak, there’s a chocolate tart.

I finally ask, “What about the seafood?”

“Oh yeah, he says. “We are doing a dusted Day Boat Scallop as a first course.”

Which led to a laugh and a realization. Most chefs look forward to these festivals and wine dinners to, as they call it, play a little bit, do things they’d not normal do on their menu. Pretty obvious to me that Bescos wanted to add some “turf” to his already popular “surf.” Certainly nothing wrong with that.

If you want more seafood, it will just give you a reason to go back.

Incidentally, Red Fish is preparing to open a location in Old Town Bluffton, so if you haven’t had a chance to visit them, then maybe you should say hello.